Joining the Army (Reserves)

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 08 Nov 2006, 07:36

I'm going to be joining (or attempting to join...) the Army soon. Reserves to be exact (hells no I ain't signing my life away for the next 7 years). Can anyone give me any hints and advice as to what it's like at first?

rattle · Post by **rattle** » 08 Nov 2006, 11:37

You'll be wrestled down in the shower, twice a day. If you refuse to pick up the soap by yourself that is.

espylaub · Post by **espylaub** » 08 Nov 2006, 13:42

What exactly does reserve mean in the US? Don't they send reservists overseas too? Or was that National Guard?

If the reserves have similar basic training to the normal forces, prepare for a degrading, dehumanising training where you will be conditioned to kill without thinking, to sing and shout without thinking, to do as you are told without thinking. There will be lots of shouting, psychological abuse, nationalism, racism, low, sexist brutish humour, machoism and generally lots of other inane crap that will make any intelligent human being want to run away in horror.

But your mileage might vary.

Remember, a soldier's primary task is to kill when told to do so. That should be the first and most important thing in your mind. Everything else is secondary. They will tell you lots of wonderful things about the army, but they will never tell you this.

If you want to do something good, there are lots of other organisations you can join.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 08 Nov 2006, 14:57

Joining the army, even the reserves, is going to be a lot of hard work. Mostly becuase training, in the army, is supposed to prepair you for the closest thing to hell on earth. If anything is worse then battle, I'd like to hear it.

Have fun.

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 08 Nov 2006, 16:16

I'm not interested in other organizations, unless they can give me weapons and combat and survival training, show me how to field-strip a variety of firearms, operate anti-tank weapons and "play" with explosives.

I imagine it will be hard, particularly because I will be a Marxist in a sea of right-wing nutjobs, but I'm not joining to make friends or even to "serve my country". I'm in it solely to learn how to kill.

LOrDo · Post by **LOrDo** » 08 Nov 2006, 16:28

Enjoy then.

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 08 Nov 2006, 16:42

You can get that in any country's military and I think there are quite a few that have more humane treatment of their recruits. Not sure how likely they are to allow foreign soldiers though I think the Legion Etrangere accepts anybody (no idea if that's better than the US Army, though). Some militaries demand that their recruits keep thinking even in battle so they may be more suitable for training you for situations without a superior to give you orders.

I've been in the Bundeswehr for a very short time (got dropped quickly because I developed a psychological disorder from the stress) and if the portrayal of the US Army in the media is anything to go by the treatment in the BW was a lot better. No matter what, military training is not a lot of fun.

A militia might be a better idea since those should teach you the same subjects but with less degrading.

Hellspawn · Post by **Hellspawn** » 08 Nov 2006, 17:27

KDR_11k wrote: I think the Legion Etrangere accepts anybody (no idea if that's better than the US Army, though).

Ah yes France elite legion (somewhere I heard they teach american commandos). You need to do psyhology and physical test, less then 10% of people is accepted. Payment is good :D, problem is dead rate is pretty high and many of people who return have problem integrating back to normal society.

bamb · Post by **bamb** » 08 Nov 2006, 18:22

Man, I, like 90% of my age class have been in the army in my country.
If you really want to learn those skills (weapons, shooting, survival), you have much much much better places to do that.

Army is mostly about internal discipline-holding and inefficiency and maybe about 1 to 5% of the time actually learning something new that you can use somewhere.
What do you do with skills like how to fold your quilt four and half times so it fits precisely on your footstool's cover... or how to react to commands when marching in a line... or how to hold your hands and boots and speak to some kind of official when reporting some special thing... or how to sleep in every possible location if you have two minutes of spare time since you're so damn sleep-deprived constantly.

Join some hiking club and gun club and start learning yourself and with buddies, much much much nicer and more productive and better for everyone. You can learn in a month all the essential stuff you learn in the army in a year, if you leave the unessentials out.
You probably have older relatives who'd be delighted to get a young man with them in their hobbies, and you can learn a lot from them.

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 08 Nov 2006, 18:34

TA OTC
(OTC is part of the TA. Officer Training Core)
You get all the learnage (and get paid) you get to do every other weekend survival camp (and get paid) and you get to do a huuuuuge range of awesome activities in the holidays (and get paid). And if you are a student you are non-deployable even in the TA. But because its the OTC even AFTER you get paid for all that you do not have to sign up for the TA. In short it kicks ass + you get paid for it...Did i mention the laser rifles? they are freaaaaaaking swwwwwwwwaaaaaahhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt d(^_^)b

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 08 Nov 2006, 18:40

Join some hiking club and gun club and start learning yourself and with buddies

Buddies can hardly provide the level of pride and comradery that the Armed Forces can, nor can they "teach" me to defend my country in the most righteous and ultimate way, which is to join my nation's armed forces and defend her from terrorism and tyranny.

Felix the Cat · Post by **Felix the Cat** » 08 Nov 2006, 19:04

SpikedHelmet wrote:
Join some hiking club and gun club and start learning yourself and with buddies

Buddies can hardly provide the level of pride and comradery that the Armed Forces can, nor can they "teach" me to defend my country in the most righteous and ultimate way, which is to join my nation's armed forces and defend her from terrorism and tyranny.

I don't even want to think about the multiple levels of sarcasm in that paragraph, nor do I particularly want to think about what you intend to do with military training after you leave the Army.

Cabbage · Post by **Cabbage** » 08 Nov 2006, 19:04

Min3 is refering to the Territorial Army (U.k.), not total annihilation btw ^^

Comp1337 · Post by **Comp1337** » 08 Nov 2006, 19:58

Felix the Cat wrote:
SpikedHelmet wrote:
Join some hiking club and gun club and start learning yourself and with buddies

Buddies can hardly provide the level of pride and comradery that the Armed Forces can, nor can they "teach" me to defend my country in the most righteous and ultimate way, which is to join my nation's armed forces and defend her from terrorism and tyranny.
I don't even want to think about the multiple levels of sarcasm in that paragraph, nor do I particularly want to think about what you intend to do with military training after you leave the Army.

+1

PicassoCT · Post by **PicassoCT** » 08 Nov 2006, 20:03

If there is no War and the Training is over - it is boredom and filling this Boredom with stupid tasks, daily sinking moral that drowns in alcohol and stupidity all over. Weapon cleaning!! Sport ! Shooting Training! Drinking ! Weapon Training! You will praise the Days, you are send into manoveurs.

However - try to get into the Reserve HighRanked, it is more intresting - try to avoid Wars that are already lost, or you will get fragged by desilusionated Vets, who don`t want you to send them into a useless waste of there lives. (Such stuff happens)

Don`t combine Drugs with Combatsituations, or you will have permanent PTSS. Face the Fact that you will shot even the Good Guys (Civilians e.g.) in the messy Combatsituations or -that you will have no Controll over the Sit and your Live just Depends by gods Dice (remember those fucked HMVs with no Armor). Good Luck.

Edit: The Film "Buffallo Soldier" is in the Begining Fairly Realistic. Good Thing is that there is Military Police responsible so the worst Accidents are not revealed at all.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 08 Nov 2006, 22:51

SpikedHelmet wrote:I imagine it will be hard, particularly because I will be a Marxist in a sea of right-wing nutjobs,

Now thats mean. These soldier people are getting shot at and shooting at other people, lots of them DON'T survive, and to add that they are far away from freinds and family, and then they come back and are treated in the media like they are a bunch of redneck idjits! It really pisses me off, mostly cause I know soldiers. They're not machoistic, they are not idiots and they are not jarheads. Why? Because being a machoist while getting shot at is a REALLY good way to eat some lead. Also idiots tend to die in NORMAL situations (Darwin Awards, anyone?). If I was a soldier I'd be pretty mad about how they are potrayed by the media (Jarhead, for example) and by public opinion.

Hellspawn · Post by **Hellspawn** » 08 Nov 2006, 23:04

Zoombie wrote: are treated in the media like they are a bunch of redneck idjits!

Usually they aren't exactly scientist aswell.

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 08 Nov 2006, 23:07

I never said they are machoistic, or idiots, or jarheads. They're all highly-trained and intelligent men and women. They just also happen to be, far more often than not, right-wing sympathizers and conservatives. Like myself.

bamb · Post by **bamb** » 08 Nov 2006, 23:12

There are good and bad people in the army, with some you get camaraderie and with some you don't. Same with friends, if you go through hardships and extraordinary things together, it strengthens the ties. It's not something "magic" that's in the army per se, it's just that there are groups of people that have to be very close and go through bad stuff together, and that tends to accentuate the relationships. If there's a good guy, then he becomes a really good friend, if there's an annoying person, he becomes someone you really hate.

But you can achieve those hardships and tests elsewhere too, by aiming to something much more positive. Join some organization that drives stuff you find important for the society. Make a bike trip, go survey nature conservation areas etc etc... there are lots of possibilities.

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 08 Nov 2006, 23:16

You know, a lot of the times I wish that American's woulden't brag about having one of the 'biggest, badassinest, most high tech armed forces on the planet!'. I, for one, would much rather have the biggest, badassinest, most high tech space program on the planet.

But thats cause I'm not running the country. Thank god, cause I'd run it into the ground.

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Joining the Army (Reserves)

Joining the Army (Reserves)